Judge to announce Manning’s sentence WednesdayFORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — A military judge said she’ll announce on Wednesday the sentence for Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, who gave reams of classified information to WikiLeaks. Army Col. Denise Lind said Tuesday she was still deliberating but she was confident she would have a sentence by Wednesday morning. “At 10 a.m. tomorrow I will announce the sentence,” Lind said about 2 1/2 hours into her deliberations. Manning faces up to 90 years in prison...

San Diego mayor back in lawsuit settlement talks SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego’s embattled mayor on Tuesday spent a second day in settlement talks over a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, as petitions circulated to recall the former congressman who has been besieged by allegations from more than a dozen women. City Council President Todd Gloria and Councilman Kevin Faulconer confirmed that Mayor Bob Filner has been present at the talks involving the lawsuit filed by his former communicatio...

Survey: Health insurance costs outpace wage gains Workers saw a modest rise in the average cost of employer-sponsored health insurance this year, but they’re probably not overwhelmed with relief. Coverage costs still are climbing faster than wages. That means, in many cases, a bigger portion of the average paycheck is sliced off for insurance instead of being deposited into employee bank accounts. Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage climbed nearly 4 percent this year to top...

Lawmaker steps down from Senate seatLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Democratic state senator from northeast Arkansas resigned Tuesday after an ethics panel said he spent thousands of dollars from his re-election campaign on personal items such as women’s clothing and home theater equipment. Sen. Paul Bookout of Jonesboro announced he was stepping down immediately following last week’s decision by the Arkansas Ethics Commission to fine him $8,000 and reprimand him over the spending. Bookout...

Hobbs: Add job applications to government aid LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Republican candidate for governor said Tuesday that too many people “have learned how to work the system” and that she would want anyone receiving government assistance to also fill out a job application when applying for aid. State Rep. Debra Hobbs, R-Rogers, speaking to the Political Animals Club, decried the poor stewardship of government money. Meeting with reporters afterward, she said people receiving unemployment be...

Group kicks off nat’l tour on health law defunding FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — One of the chief backers of a plan to defund the federal health care law by tying it to budget negotiations said Monday that he didn’t believe Republicans would be blamed for a government shutdown as supporters of the approach launched a national tour to spur support for the idea. Dismissing concerns from some Republicans, former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina called the defunding idea the “last, best chance” to sto...

Unemployment rate up to 7.4 percentLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas’ unemployment rate for July was up one-tenth of a percentage point to 7.4 percent. The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services said Monday that the rate was the same in July 2012, though there are 1,700 fewer unemployed state residents than a year ago. The national unemployment rate fell by two-tenths of a percentage point to 7.4 percent for July. The agency says government employment fell by 13,900 jobs and was o...

Tax revenues would fund park upgradesRussellville’s Recreation and Parks Department plans to complete several capital projects should voters decide next month in favor of extending the city’s 1-cent sales tax. The bulk of the department’s $8.3 million in proposed revenues from the tax would be dedicated to the construction and operation of a new indoor aquatic center. The facility itself will cost $5.5 million, and another $1.5 million will be set aside for operations and mainten...

5 decades later, some JFK probe files still sealed Five decades after President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot and long after official inquiries ended, thousands of pages of investigative documents remain withheld from public view. The contents of these files are partially known — and intriguing — and conspiracy buffs are not the only ones seeking to open them for a closer look. Some serious researchers believe the off-limits files could shed valuable new light on nagging mysteries of the as...

Who’s jumping through which 2016 hoops WASHINGTON (AP) — Get your face on TV and write a book: Check. Start meeting the big money people: Check. Visit Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina — Israel, too: Check. Deny any of this has to do with running for president: Check. For politicians planning or tempted to run for the presidency in 2016, the to-do list is formidable. What’s striking is how methodically most of them are plowing through it while they pretend nothing of the sort is ...

Egypt challenges Obama’s Arab Spring philosophy WASHINGTON (AP) — As Arab Spring democracy uprisings spread across the Middle East, President Barack Obama’s response to the political unrest has been to voice support for people seeking representative governments but limit the role the United States will play to shape those efforts. The president’s philosophy of limited engagement is facing perhaps its toughest test in Egypt, where the nation’s first democratically elected president was ouste...

Beebe backing Ross' bid for Arkansas governor LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe endorsed former congressman Mike Ross on Saturday in his bid to succeed him as the state's top elected official, touting the Democrat and former congressman as the best choice. "Mike Ross will unite this state with a bipartisan focus on education, job creation and tax reform, and he will serve as the hardworking, compassionate leader we need to continue moving Arkansas forward," the popular governor ...

City delays decision on developerThe Russellville City Council postponed a decision Thursday to move toward an agreement with a convention center developer. At the Finance Committee meeting prior to the council’s regular meeting, Alderman Martin Irwin made the motion to postpone the decision on a proposed memorandum of understanding between the city and LodgeWell, a Kansas-based developer. He said he wanted to take more time to look at and understand the document before votin...

Reactions to developments in Egypt Reactions on Friday around the world to developments in Egypt following clashes in which hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured: EUROPEAN UNION European leaders spoke Friday about the need for a coordinated EU response to the violence in Egypt and agreed there should be a meeting of the European Union’s foreign ministers next week. French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an end to violenc...

Iraq seeks help from US amid growing violence WASHINGTON (AP) — A resurgence of violence and a renewed threat from al-Qaida have recently revived flagging U.S. interest in Iraq, officials said Friday as Baghdad asked for new help to fight extremists less than two years after it forced American troops to withdraw. Faced with security crises across the Mideast, North Africa and Asia, the White House largely has turned its attention away from Iraq since U.S. forces left in 2011. But the coun...

Abortion coverage for Congress under health law? WASHINGTON (AP) — The politics of the abortion debate are always tricky for lawmakers. They may soon get personal. An attempt to fix a problem with the national health care law has created a situation in which members of Congress and their staffers could gain access to abortion coverage. That’s a benefit currently denied to them and to all federal employees who get health insurance through the government’s plan. Abortion opponents say the Obam...

Tepid US retail sales raising doubts about economy WASHINGTON (AP) — Bleaker outlooks at retailers like Wal-Mart and Macy’s are raising doubts that consumers will spend enough in coming months to lift the still-subpar U.S. economy. Though the economy is growing steadily, Americans are being hampered by weak pay, higher taxes and tepid hiring. Sluggish overseas economies are also slowing sales for U.S. retailers. It’s a picture the Federal Reserve will weigh in deciding whether to scale back it...

Fewest Americans since 2007 seek jobless benefits WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped 15,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 320,000, the fewest since October 2007 — a sign of dwindling layoffs and steady if modest job growth. The Labor Department said Thursday that the less volatile four-week average fell 4,000 to 332,000, the fewest since November 2007 and the fifth straight decline. Companies are laying off fewer workers, a trend that has lowe...

New NSA revelations stir congressional concern WASHINGTON (AP) — New revelations from leaker Edward Snowden that the National Security Agency has overstepped its authority thousands of times since 2008 are stirring renewed calls on Capitol Hill for serious changes to NSA spy programs, undermining White House hopes that President Barack Obama had quieted the controversy with his assurances of oversight. An internal audit provided by Snowden to The Washington Post shows the agency has repeat...

AG rejects wording of pot proposalLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has rejected a request to certify the popular name and ballot title of a proposed constitutional amendment that calls for ending a prohibition on marijuana. McDaniel rejected the request from Arkansans For Medical Cannabis in an opinion on Friday because he said there were ambiguities in the text. The proposed measure must be certified by McDaniel before the group can begin gather5ng...